"The Fargo Kid" starring Tim Holt

For tonight's movie, I went with another Tim Holt Western : "The Fargo Kid" (1940), which was fun because it took us back to the Iverson Ranch location in Chatsworth, with many scenes shot at the famous Garden Of The Gods rock formations off of Santa Susana Pass. All of the "Durango Kid" films were shot at Iverson and I had gotten used to seeing it as the backdrop for these hour long Westerns. In the first Tim Holt movie, viewed last night, the location was Kanab, Utah - which is spectacular to be sure - but even so I was missing the familiar landscape at Iverson, so it was a nice surprise to recognize it right away in tonight's first scene.

The Holt Westerns have a formula that is similar to the one used with the Durango Kid. There is a sidekick - de rigueur in B-Westerns (and you can add de rigueur to the French terms I promise never to use again, though I must add that, in my opinion, it's not as bad as milieu).

But where was I? Oh yeah.....there is a sidekick for Tim Holt, which usually means a comic foil, and in Westerns that translates to a guy who is physically the polar opposite of the Cowboy Star. In the Durango Kid movies, you had Smiley Burnette, who was dumpy and uncoordinated, and yet he was the perfect sidekick to the rock solid, hypervigilant Kid because he could hold his own with the Kid in any situation. Smiley had the gift of gab, and also of song, and like many large comedians he was graceful in his pratfalls, so as the sidekick to Charles Starrett he was the perfect comedic foil because he was just as strong a character, though in an opposite way.

I have only seen two of the Tim Holt movies, but it appears that his comic foil may be Emmett Lynn, a scrawny, bewhiskered "old coot" who has the demeanor of a Don Knotts, a wimpy looking guy who will nonetheless "put up his dukes" against anyone. Like Knotts, Emmett Lynn is afraid of no bad guy, no gunslinger or outlaw. Or so he says. :)

When push comes to shove, the results may differ.

Also, as with the Durango movies, there are musical interludes, this time provided by cowboy singer Ray Whitley and his group. Like Emmett Lynn, Whitley has been in both Holt films so far, so I imagine he will be the main musical star throughout the series, and he and his backing group are fantastic in the way of singing harmonies, as have been all the country and western acts we've seen in these "hour Westerns" so far. Boy can these guys sing, and their music adds to the easygoing feel of the plots, with their mix of comedy and action.

The storylines in these B-Westerns have interchangeable parts, so you can mix n' match 'em and you know you are always gonna have two or three elements of a set amount of ingredients. In tonight's "Fargo Kid" you have a man and his family owning a small mine, hoping to strike gold but only unearthing relatively worthless iron ore. So right there you have a Western Movie Ingredient : Gold Mining. The local assayer in town (the guy who weighs gold) is offering to buy the mine from the family. He says he wants the land to build a road to other mines. The man's wife and daughter want him to sell, but the man won't do it. He wants to keep digging in case there is gold in there somewhere.

The assayer knows that there is gold in the mine, because he has an underground map of the area which shows a rich vein within fifteen feet of the tunnel the man has already dug. The man has no idea this vein is there, so if the assayer can just convince him to sell - or kill him - the gold will be his.

But the assayer wasn't counting on the arrival of The Fargo Kid, an honest gunslinger, so there you have the main ingredient in any Western, "B" or otherwise : The Hero.

Many Western Heroes are older, perhaps a little weather beaten, though all are tall and thin and still retain a fair amount of athletic ability. Holt has all the physical attributes, but he is decidedly a kid, good natured and all smiles on the outside, whereas a guy like Starrett wore a mask over his face so you could never see his expression. Holt shows his mettle, though, when it counts, and this end game toughness is what shows through when the chips are down. ///

I am still getting used to him, but the stories are good so far, and all the Western ingredients are in place. And best of all, we are back at Iverson Ranch. As with the Durango Kid movies, we are gonna give the Holt films an automatic Two Thumbs Up. ////

I am tired tonight, and though I want to consider another composer for inclusion on our list, I think I may have to wait until tomorrow. I have been listening to Beethoven piano sonatas, and though I do not rank them as highly as I do the sublime compositions of Debussy, I am torn between including either one of the two on the list. Most folks would go with Beethoven unquestioningly, because of his symphonic genius and overall stature, and I am inclined in this way also. But I love classical piano, and in this regard, I think Debussy may have Beethoven beat. Is that sacrilege?

Well, I haven't decided yet, and there are two spots left anyway in our top ten.

That is all for tonight. I will see you in the morning.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)